Kharge makes emotional appeal on home turf, says he is K'taka's 'Bhoomi Putra'

Making an emotional appeal to voters in his home turf on the last day of campaigning Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday asked them to take pride in the fact that he as a bhoomi putra of Karnataka had been made AICC president and sought a win for the Congress in that nameStating that he was 81 years old and if someone wanted to finish him off they could he said he would until his last breath he continue to fight for the poor and try to protect their interestsCongress had recently alleged that an assassination plot had been hatched to wipe out Kharge his wife and his entire family by a BJP candidate It had shared an alleged audio recording of the BJP candidate from Chittapur constituency in Kalaburagi district Manikanta Rathod in which he is heard purportedly saying in Kannada that he would wipe out Kharge his wife and childrenIt seems that it might have come into the minds of BJP leaders to finish me off If not who will have the courage to say that he wants to finish off Kharge and family If he has to say it some BJP leader should be behind him or else it will not Kharge saidAlso Read BJPs politics of hate division responsible Mallikarjun Kharge over Manipur violenceAddressing a public meeting here he said no one could finish him off easily I have Babasahebs Constitution to protect me the people of Kalaburagi and Karnataka are behind me Now after becoming AICC president the people of the country are behind me You may finish me and my family If I go someone else may emerge he saidRathod rejected the charges outright and said It is all a lie They are playing some fake audio The Congress is leveling baseless allegations fearing defeatFurther accusing the BJP of going around saying everywhere that they wanted to finish him off as he and his son are speaking against them the AICC chief said Modi is also behaving similarly Speak about me why son He is not to your level Speak about me its fine Ive been in politics for 52 yearsbut why my familySaying that he had lost his entire family once in his childhood and was left alone he added Im still alive and will continue to live with the blessings of the peoplelet them do whatever they want but Im also strong A man may live up to a hundred years or 90 years but in India average life is 70 or 71 Im already in my bonus period Im 81 years now If I live I may live for another eight or nine years no worries If you want to finish me off before that finish if your problems will be resolved Im ready But until I have my last breath I will continue to fight for the poor and try to protect them Until you people are with me I have no fear he addedKharge also urged the people of Kalaburagi to ensure that Congress won all seats in the region in response to the party making him its national president suggesting that it was a matter of pridePointing out that because of the blessings of the people of Kalaburagi he was in Parliament and had been in the Assembly and worked in various capacities including Leader of Opposition Kharge said though he lost the Lok Sabha polls Sonia Gandhi had made him a Rajya Sabha member and then Leader of Opposition and above all he has been made the AICC president It is a matter of pride of Gulbarga Kalaburagi not mine he saidStating that he may die some day he said But Gulbarga Kalaburagi has got the post of Congress national president and saving it is in your hand bringing respect to it is in your hands Or else others will say Gulbarga Kalaburagi was made president but people there didnt even choose an MLAKharge asked the people to ensure that Congress won all the seats in Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts You should make sure Congress wins all 13 seats Then I will get respect and also to those who made me president and also to you as Im no one without youIn 52 years he had brought no bad name to his people he said I have fought against JDS BJP Modi in Parliament I have fought for justiceNoting that he had gone to Gujarat for election campaigning the AICC president said Modi there was urging people to vote for BJP as he was the bhoomi putra of Gujarat and Ahmedabad and requested them to save his dignity In the same way Kharge said he himself was seeking votes from his people in Kalaburagi and KarnatakaI want to tell Modi now that Im the bhoomi putra of Karnataka and Gulbarga Kalaburagi The right you have in Gujarat I have here and I should get it You have done nothing for my place but Im asking after working for my region What have you done to seek votes here he askedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever